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Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Birding at Lake Mattamuskeet: A Common Yellowthroat

One of the sweetest species of Warbler we’ve got flying around here in North Carolina is the Common Yellowthroat.
I was lucky to spot this female hunting for a meal in a marsh recently at the Lake Mattamuskeet NWR.
She was moving around so quickly that it was tough to get a photograph of her as she flew from reed to reed over the water.
Such a neat little bird!



Common Yellowthroats are a year round resident of North Carolina. Though they are seen throughout the Tarheel state in the spring and summer, during the winter months you’re most likely to spot this species in our eastern coastal counties.
No matter the season they may be found in briers, damp brushy places, weeds or grasses along country roads or agricultural areas.
As seen in this series of photos from Lake Mattamuskeet, Common Yellowthroats are also found stalking insects in cattails, bulrushes, sedges, and willows by streamsides, ponds, swamps, both in freshwater, and salt-water marshes.



It was neat to spend time with this female. I haven’t much of an opportunity to do so in the past as I’ve found them to be much shyer than the males. Though they aren’t as boldly feathered as the males who sport that familiar black face mask, female Common Yellowthroats are quite a lovely sight with that pretty warm brown and yellow plumage reflecting in the sun.



Next month, Common Yellowthroats will start spreading west into the rest of North Carolina to establish their breeding territories.
They are known to nest in all 100 counties from the mountains to the coast so they should be easy to find in the spring and summer no matter where you live.
It’s not just us who get to enjoy them though!
Stretching from far north western Canada all
the way down into California and across the US into Florida, these birds have one of the widest breeding ranges in the Western Hemisphere for Warbler species.
Makes a little more sense on how these uncommonly beautiful birds earned the “common” in their name.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

Birding at Lake Mattamuskeet NWR: Blue headed Vireo

Recently I took a trip to the Lake Mattamuskeet NWR to scout out some locations for future birding trips.
This is such a wonderful spot to visit in the wintertime! There’s a nice variety of birds to be found here and the landscape is warm and inviting even on the coldest of days.



One of prettiest birds I encountered at the East Pond along Wildlife Drive was this Blue-headed Vireo. It was neat to get a nice up close look at this feathered gem in the marsh near the dock. We watched one another for a minute or two before he flew off into the brush.
Though it was a brief encounter, I was happy to grab at least a few photos while it lasted.


A year round resident of North Carolina, Blue-headed Vireos breed in the western part of the state during the spring & summer and then spend the winter months in our eastern coastal counties.


During nesting season, they’re relatively easily to find in the Appalachian Mountains at elevations consisting of mixed coniferous and hardwood forests. Take a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway and you’re likely to see (or hear) at least a couple when pulling off onto those scenic overlooks.


That being said, I’ve had the most luck spotting them during the wintertime in the mid to lower canopies of trees as well as foraging in low lying shrubs in open fields. A curious little bird, they seem to respond well to pishing and will fly in close if you give that a try.
Aren’t they lovely?

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Birdwatching News

New Weekend bird watching tour dates are now available in North Carolina for 2021

Come birding with me!
I’ve just updated the tour page on the website to include a bunch of new dates and birding locations here in North Carolina for 2021.

These trips are are geared towards birders and bird loving photographers of all skill levels and are usually a lot of fun.
Real time species ID is provided in the field with a trip goal of getting out there to see more birds in less time.
An eBird summery documenting all that we find along the way will be sent to you immediately following the tour so that you can add new birds to your own life list at your leisure too!

Check out the tour links below for more information on upcoming trips and I hope you enjoy the photos of some of my favorite birds from 2020.

Happy birding my friends and cheers to the new year ahead 🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc

Bird watching tours in North Carolina
Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

A Fox Sparrow at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation

I stopped by the Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh N.C. earlier this week in preparation for a trip I’ve got scheduled here for the end of the month. I hadn’t visited here in a few weeks and wanted to see what kinds of birds were in the area now that winter has arrived in earnest.

Happily there were lots of colorful feathered gems flying around from Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Brown headed Nuthatches and Starlings, to Cardinals, Kinglets and Blue Jays. One of my favorites though were the Fox Sparrows.

The Fox Sparrow is a small bird that I don’t see very often during the winter which is a shame because they’re quite pretty!
With 18 different subspecies of Fox Sparrow, as a group their plumage varies widely in the Western Hemisphere.
Some are grayish brown in color, others are reddish toned while the remaining are a mix of the two hues with varying degrees of color intensity.
Here in North Carolina, the subspecies we encounter during the wintertime is the Red variety. They are aptly named with a broad rust red or dark brown streaking on their back and underparts, a bright russet reddish rump and tail, reddish brown wings and grey tones on the sides of their neck, which contrast nicely with their rusty brown ear coverts.
This warm reddish brown plumage suits their needs well as remain pretty well camouflaged in the leaves and brush when foraging for a meal.

With the first photograph in this post, I just got lucky as this bird was actually perched in a tree nearby offering me a clear view.
The second photograph shown below is more typical of how I usually find these little ones, hiding behind a tangle of grass and briers.

Look for them in wide open deep grass fields feeding on the ground. It can be tough to find them since they tend to be a bit shy so try pishing to draw them out of the thick stuff for a moment or two to get a proper look.
They will stick around N.C. until late March or early April so there is still plenty of time for you to see one in the coming months 🙂

By the way, I’ve got a trip scheduled to the Prairie Ridge Ecostation at the end of January. If you’d like to join me you may do so by clicking on the trip detail page listed in the tour links below.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Winterbirds in the summer: Dark eyed Juncos in western N.C.

One of the joys of birding in the mountains of North Carolina during the late summer & autumn is finding the birds that one usually sees in the wintertime here in the Triangle region.
Commonly referred to as the “Snowbird” by residents of central and eastern NC, the Dark eyed Junco calls the higher elevations of western NC home year round.



Often traveling in small family flocks, these birds are constantly on the move as they forage in the low brushy scrub areas in a never ending search for a meal.
I spotted this one at the Craggy Gardens Picnic area along the Blue Ridge Parkway while leading a bird tour here last month. Interestingly, the Juncos that I’ve seen up in the mountains appear to be larger in size than the ones that I typically see in my yard in central NC during the winter. Whatever they are finding to eat around here clearly serves them well in building fat reserves for colder weather ahead 😉

During the warmer months, Dark eyed Juncos feed mainly on insects, seeds and occasionally berries. Once the cold weather arrives, their diet consists of entirely seeds.
They are known to practice an interesting foraging method called “riding.” They’ll fly up and land onto a seed cluster on the top of a flimsy stem then catch a gravity assisted “ride” it to the ground where they pick off the shower of seeds that dropped on the way down.
Thinking that the round ones I’ve seen up in the mountains have that behavior down to a science lol!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds

Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

American redstart vs. Tennessee warbler at Charles d. Owen park

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These two little birds, an American Redstart (bottom ) & Tennessee Warbler (top ) were among the most common species that I saw at Charles Owen Park in Swannanoa NC last week. Similar in size and demeanor, both Warblers are energetic foragers, flitting from bush to tree, actively clambering over vegetation and flying out to catch insects. Apparently though, the female Redstart had very little patience for the antics of her Tennessee shadow. At one point she attacked the young bird by dive bombing him. Swipe through to the second photo to see her in attack mode haha! After a brief scuffle, the smaller bird made a hasty retreat across the lake leaving the Redstart to continue to foraging in peace. Now that fall migration is well underway here in NC, Warblers of various species are moving through the state in vast numbers. Species that normally live in the mountains are showing up in yards in the Piedmont. Others that nest in Canada are making a limited appearance too! If you love Warblers, now is the time to go find ‘em! Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the mighty 50MP full frame, the @canonusa #5Ds

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Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Out There with the Expert, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A Killdeer encounter in the OBX

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This Killdeer was quite curious about my presence during my trip last month to the Pea Island NWR in Rodanthe N.C.
She come right up close, gave me the once over and went off about her business of finding a meal without concern.
Killdeers are the largest species of ringed plover in the United States. Their breeding range spans the entire country and from Pacific coast, to across all of the southern U.S., Killdeer are considered year-round residents.

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As a ground-dwelling bird, the Killdeer prefers open space with minimal vegetation, which may include lawns, driveways, parking lots, golf courses, and open fields.
Like other species of plovers, they will employ a false broken wing behavior to lure potential predators away from their nest sites so watch your step and back away from any Killdeer that you see displaying this behavior to avoid stressing out their family.

Bears & Birding Tours

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame SLR, the @canonusa
#5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Birding in eastern North Carolina: Painted Buntings

Getting ready to head back out to eastern North Carolina tomorrow to go birding in the morning.
Hoping that there’s a chance that I might be lucky enough to encounter another Painted Bunting like this one that I found at Fort Fisher NC last month.
Seeing one of these colorful birds is such a treat! Although I’ve encountered them many times over the years, it never gets old.

When I’m out looking for them, I listen for their high pitched buzzzzed zeeeep calls from ground level to about 20 ft in the brush.
Painted Buntings can be found in open areas along the coast of North Carolina (and throughout the southern states) catching grasshoppers, weevils and other beetles, caterpillars, bugs, spiders, snails, wasps and flies.
During non-breeding months of early spring and late summer, they prefer to eat seeds and may be found visiting your feeders on a somewhat regular basis.
By the way, as colorful as these birds are, their favorite seed is plain as can be lol!
Fill your feeders with white millet, a seed that is commonly snubbed by other birds yet abundant in the most basic of mixed seed blends.
How cool is that?!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame SLR, the @canonusa
#5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A Canada Warbler at Craggy Gardens, N.C.

One of my favorite species of high country birds in North Carolina is the Canada Warbler. I spotted this handsome male at Craggy Gardens off of the Blue Ridge Parkway yesterday morning.
He was quite curious and flew in close when I called him which was pretty darn cool!

Canada Warblers are found in many types of forests, from conifer swamps to riparian woodlands. However, they are most commonly found in cool, damp, mixed deciduous-coniferous forests with well-developed shrub layers.
Here in the southern Appalachian Mountains, they are often spotted at the higher elevations foraging for insects during the summer.
They’ll stick around until mid to late September after which they’ll depart for their wintering grounds in the Andes in South America.

Photo by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the incredible @canonusa #5ds

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A once in a lifetime experience, North Carolina bird conservation with Adam Betuel

Check out this months featured tour guide, Adam Betuel of Teal Birding’s story of how a summer studying Purple Martins in Manteo, N.C. kick started his ornithological career.
Here’s an excerpt from the blog post titled “Fledging on Roanoke Island“….
🌿
“My work schedule had me at the roost at dawn and dusk but most of the rest of my days were free to explore. I became very familiar with Pea Island, Alligator River, and the local bird watching store. Life birds flooded in for this Midwestern boy ranging from Red-cockaded Woodpeckers to Brown-headed Nuthatches and Piping Plovers.
A day spent on the ocean with the famous Brian Patterson was a true highlight and I think internally it convinced me that I had reached full bird nerd status. I made great friends with local birders, the family that hosted me, and colleagues that allowed me to spend lazy evenings with them out in Columbia under their martin gourds. It was an experience of a lifetime. “
🌿
In addition to serving as the Conservation director of the Atlanta Audubon Society, Adam Betuel is also the President of Teal Birding Tours.
If you’re searching for someone to deliver your own birding experience of a lifetime, contact Adam to find out more about his upcoming trips. (He’s got one coming up soon in Paraguay!!!)

When you get back home share your awesome photos with us!

Continue reading about Adam’s adventures in Manteo, North Carolina here….